Gender inequality
trends over time. The extent to which the analysis presented here is accurate rests on the construct validity of the variables on which we do have data, that is, the extent to which the variables employed are adequate proxies for overall gender differences in well-being for which data are unavailable.
Despite progress, we observe worrying gender reversals in some countries, with males’ average years of education and secondary enrolment rates now falling below that of females.
To review, trends in inequality were analysed in three domains: capabilities, livelihoods, and agency/empowerment. Within the domain of capabilities, results show that we are closer to global gender equality in education today than in 1990 and, in many countries, gender gaps have been eliminated. Moreover, we have moved toward global convergence in gender equality in secondary education, with the largest gains made in the countries with the lowest gender ratios in 1990. Still, of 108 countries in this sample, over 50 percent have not yet achieved parity.
Despite this progress, we observe worrying gender reversals in some countries, with males’ average years of education and secondary enrolment rates now falling below that of females. There has been little systematic global analysis of the causes for this. To understand this phenomenon, a shift in analysis from women’s to men’s behaviour is more necessary than ever. In particular, it requires an investigation of norms of masculinity and their response to changes in women’s outcomes. For example, the male decline in relative educational achievement in some countries and at some levels may be due to males’ unwillingness to compete with females in a space males had previously dominated. In other words, men may perform more poorly or withdraw altogether as schools become perceived as a ‘feminized’ space.19 While gender educational gaps have narrowed, there has been little change in the F/M ratio of life expectancy. Here, too, the causes of this trend are not well understood. Further, it contradicts the prediction that women’s life chances improve as they become more economically valuable, as evidenced by their higher rates of labour force participation and employment shares. Thus, in terms of capabilities, progress is mixed. In the livelihoods domain, although progress is evident, gender gaps are persistent and parity is far from achieved in any of the indicators we examined. In some countries, female relative employment gains have occurred in the context of declines in male employment rates and, thus, the narrowing of gaps is genderconflictive, with potentially negative feedback effects on relationships at the household level, such as family dissolution and domestic violence. Of particular significance is the fact that employment equality lags behind educational improvements. Figure 5.4 (Panel C) exemplifies the wide gap in progress between educational and employment equality. As that figure shows, by 2010, while most countries were concentrated around a secondary enrolment ratio of 1, the F/M employment ratio was much more unequal across countries and much lower on average than F/M secondary enrolment rates. It is apparent that educational equality is not sufficient for achieving equality of well-being in livelihoods. Theories of gender stratification indicate that a key factor in gender inequality is unequal bargaining power at the household level. In that context, income under women’s control relative to men’s (or gender equality in livelihoods) improves their fallback position and thus their ability to negotiate for resources at the household level. Gender equality in this domain, then, is key to leveraging change in other domains due to its effect on gender unequal norms and stereotypes and inequality in other domains (Collins et al., 1993). Slow progress in closing employment gaps, then, is cause for concern.
182 Humanity Divided: Confronting Inequality in Developing Countries